That was the first thing that popped into my head too. The psychology of the Micronesian suicides was a lot different though.

To be fair many of these boys are hanging themselves. It could be for other reasons (like rope is hella easy to buy?) but there is that similarity in many of the suicides. Another couple broke just this week, and one was in Beverly Hills, although now it's looking a bit like a hoax. But gay kids have been offing themselves for being different since the 80s, that we know of. I don't know when teen suicide really took off, something to look into.

a particle is a thing in itself. a wave is a disturbance in something else. waves themselves are probably not disturbed.

But a history of other fear-inducing, physically painful experiences also places one at risk. Physical or sexual abuse as a child, combat exposure, and domestic abuse can also “prep” the individual for the physical pain associated with suicidal behavior. In addition, heritable variants of impulsivity, fearlessness and greater physical pain tolerance may help to explain why suicidality often runs in families. Van Orden and her coauthors also cite some intriguing evidence that habituation to pain is not so much generalized to just any old suicide method, but often specific to the particular method used to end one’s own life. For example, a study on suicides in the U.S. military branches found that guns were most frequently associated with Army personnel suicides, hanging and knots for those in the Navy, and falling and heights were more common for those in the Air Force.

I'm not quite sure how the rope thing is connected to these teenagers. Anyone have a hypothesis? Especially so in the states, where getting your hands on a gun (I initially typed guy, freudian slip much) is relatively easy.

The only thing stopping me is the thought of the poor sucker who'd have to scrape me off the pavement. If I could push a button to vanish from existence with no one being the wiser, I would smash my fist into it.

Cassiel wrote:People do think about things like cleanup and having an open casket wake.

But what does this say about the reasoning for suicide then? One would think that someone who was truly desperate to escape this life wouldn't give a damn about what happened afterwards.

This reminds me of my first plan that I made when I was 12, which was to jump off a bridge near where I live. Gave no thought to how horrendous it might be for my parents to not have a body to bury (the bridge is over a relatively fast current in the Puget Sound).

a particle is a thing in itself. a wave is a disturbance in something else. waves themselves are probably not disturbed.

It's just because I was in an excellent position to begin with. Now that the novelty is gone it's actually rather disappointing. The Netherlands might be a safe harbour for homosexuals, but the men here are so bad. It's almost as if they're worse than the average human being.

Zeuter wrote:It's just because I was in an excellent position to begin with. Now that the novelty is gone it's actually rather disappointing. The Netherlands might be a safe harbour for homosexuals, but the men here are so bad. It's almost as if they're worse than the average human being.

If you want to drop a ton of money on flying out to the States I have a couch you can forever tarnish with one of the many awesome gay dudes I know here at CMU. =D

I know the pieces fit, 'cause I watched them tumble down.No fault, none to blame; it doesn't mean I don't desireTo point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple overTo bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication.

Zeuter wrote:In Penn? I might just be going there this summer, visiting friends. I'll be at the other end of the state, though.

Boooo other end of the state suuuucks.

I know the pieces fit, 'cause I watched them tumble down.No fault, none to blame; it doesn't mean I don't desireTo point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple overTo bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication.